Ask any fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers which series of events made their blood pressure raise the most throughout the 2017 season, and the answer would likely be the non-catch call on Jesse James vs. the New England Patriots which altered the team’s playoff positioning.
This isn’t to bring up those type of arguments again, but to state how the NFL Competition Committee is starting to make steps towards fixing the controversial ‘Catch Rule’. Al Riveron, the league’s Senior Vice President of Officiating, posted a video on his verified Twitter account as to what type of catches the league is going to target:
Over the past several days, the @NFL Competition Committee has been reviewing the process of a catch. The first two elements are control and two feet down. Additional elements are also under consideration. Here are a few of the plays we are looking at. pic.twitter.com/Ny3xs3vfst
— Al Riveron (@alriveron) March 19, 2018
The Competition Committee met, and came up with the following proposal which will have to be passed by NFL owners before officially being put into place:
After much deliberation & input from coaches, players, @NFLLegends, & club executives, the @NFL Competition Committee will recommend the following language simplifying the catch rule at the Annual Meeting next week. pic.twitter.com/hJwH5YYBRK
— Al Riveron (@alriveron) March 21, 2018
In other words, these two plays would now be considered a catch:
.@NFL Competition Committee proposal noted in the previous tweet simplifies the catch process & allows for plays such as the @DezBryant (2014 post-season) and @JJames18_ (2017 season) to become catches. pic.twitter.com/K2caIndpGZ
— Al Riveron (@alriveron) March 21, 2018
Now that I’ve officially ruined your morning, the hope is you didn’t spit a hot beverage all over your computer screen. The good aspect of all this is it seems the NFL is doing their best to make things right. If it looks like a catch, then it is a catch.
The next step is for the owners to pass the rule into effect.